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Heidi Worman Permanent Makeup Expert

'Permanent make-up can restore a person's dignity'

10:00pm Monday 15th June 2009

COSMETICS are used by most women for pure vanity, but for Heidi Worman, they are vital tools in her work to transform lives.

Permanent make-up artist Heidi, from Essex, has clients from across the UK and Europe, having built a reputation for quality, natural-looking results.

She has worked on many famous faces and has appeared on television and radio, discussing her work.

“Anyone who wants to look their best, any time or anywhere, should consider permanent enhancements,” says Heidi.

“You will look younger, fresher and more attractive, and you will save valuable hours by not having to reapply make-up.”

Permanent make-up is a form of cosmetic tattooing, in which hypo-allergenic pigments are introduced into the top surface of the skin to mimic the most perfectly applied make-up in soft, natural tones.

Eyebrows, lashes, lip colour and skin blemishes can be improved or replaced, but, unlike traditional tattoos, they gradually fade over time, so the option is there to top them up.

“Many famous people look to have their eyebrows enhanced, as there is no other method to give yours brows the shape and definition achieved with permanent make-up, whatever your current brows,” Heidi explains.

Heidi also worked alongside the late reality TV star Jade Goody who, before her illness, had qualified in nipple and breast areola reconstruction.

Yet, despite the glamour of working for the rich and famous, the most rewarding part of the job for Heidi is helping restore the dignity and confidence of sick or injured clients.

Heidi has also studied paramedical make-up, learning to reconstruct nipples and breast areola, correcting skin pigmentation disorders, and scar relaxing and camouflage techniques.

She now works with top cosmetic doctors, surgeons and ophthalmologists, many of whom are based in Essex hospitals.

“Private medical insurance companies will always pay for areola reconstruction,” she says.

“Only sometimes do NHS hospitals offer to tattoo on a nipple, but this is not the best job and they do not balance out with the natural one.

“A nipple reconstruction using permanent make-up can cost up to £700.”

But, as this is a vital part of the recovery of a breast cancer patient, Heidi is working with surgeons at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, to find a way to attain NHS funding to help other patients afford the treatment.

Heidi is also passionate about using permanent make-up to restore a person’s facial features following illness.

She has taken part in events to raise awareness of the condition of alopecia, an autoimmune condition which attacks hair follicles, causing hair loss.

“For most women, it is the loss of eyebrows and lashes that is the hardest thing to cope with. It removes their femininity,” explains Heidi.

“Permanent make-up is the only long-term solution for alopecia clients and for people whose brows have failed to grow back after chemotherapy.”

Heidi also volunteers her time to provide beauty makeovers for cancer patients at Bart’s Hospital, London, and now wants to bring the service closer to home.

She is liaising with the beauty industry’s charity, Look Good, Feel Better, which operates at 70 hospitals UK-wide, with the aim of bringing it to Southend Hospital by next year.

“I think if you have got a skill, and you can use it to change lives, you should use it,” says Heidi.

Audrey Snee.